What does archiving a chat on WhatsApp do?
When you archive a chat on WhatsApp, it removes the chat from your main Chats tab and archives it. Archived chats will no longer show up in your main Chats list, and you won’t be notified about any new messages received in archived chats. Archiving a chat doesn’t delete any messages – it just hides them from view.
Archiving is useful for putting conversations you don’t regularly need access to out of the way, while still keeping a record of the messages. You can access archived chats and unarchive them at any time.
How do I view my archived chats on WhatsApp?
To view your archived chats on WhatsApp:
- Open WhatsApp
- Tap on the More options icon (three vertical dots) in the top right
- Select Settings
- Tap on Chats
- Tap on Archived chats
This will open your Archived chats list which contains all your archived conversations.
How do I unarchive a chat on WhatsApp?
Unarchiving a chat is easy – it will move the chat back into your main Chats tab.
To unarchive a chat:
- Open your Archived chats list
- Tap and hold on the chat you want to unarchive
- Select Unarchive from the menu
The selected chat will now be removed from your Archived chats and go back to your main Chats screen.
You can also unarchive chats directly from the Archived chats list:
- Open your Archived chats
- Tap the chat you want to unarchive
- Tap Unarchive at the top of the chat
The chat will instantly be unarchived.
Can I unarchive all chats at once?
Unfortunately, WhatsApp doesn’t offer a way to mass unarchive all your chats in one go. You have to unarchive chats individually.
However, there is a workaround using chat backups that can help unarchive all chats quickly:
- Back up your WhatsApp chats to Google Drive or locally
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp
- Restore chat backup when prompted
Restoring from a backup will retrieve all your archived chats as regular unarchived conversations. This essentially “resets” your chat status and unarchives everything.
Will my chat history be deleted if I archive a chat?
No, archiving a chat does not delete any messages. Your entire message history will remain intact even when a chat is archived.
The archive simply removes the chat from view in your main Chats list. All messages, media, and conversation history will still be there if you look in Archived chats.
So you don’t need to worry about losing any chat data when archiving on WhatsApp. Your chat history is preserved.
Can I search for messages in archived chats?
Yes, you can search for messages and content even in archived chats on WhatsApp.
To search archived chats:
- Open Archived Chats
- Tap on the chat you want to search
- Tap on the search icon at the top
- Enter your search term or phrase
This will let you find specific messages, links, media, etc. within that archived chat.
You can also search all archived chats together:
- Open WhatsApp Settings
- Tap Chats > Archived chats
- Tap Search archived chats at the top
- Enter your search query
This will search across all your archived conversations on WhatsApp.
Can I mute notifications from archived chats?
Since archived chats don’t send notifications already, you cannot mute or unmute notifications specifically for them.
Archived chats remain muted by default. You will not get notified about any new messages received in archived conversations.
The only way to be notified again is to unarchive the chat, which will enable notifications again.
Will my archived chats get deleted after a certain time?
No, WhatsApp does not automatically delete or remove archived chats after any specific time period. Archived conversations will stay in your archived list forever unless you manually delete them.
Your chat history and archived data is stored on your device storage or cloud backup indefinitely. WhatsApp will never automatically clear out archived chats.
The only instance archived chats may get deleted is if you uninstall WhatsApp without backing up chats, or clear app data. Otherwise, they persist forever.
Can I pin archived chats to the top?
Unfortunately, you cannot pin or favorite specific archived chats on WhatsApp currently. Pinned chats are only available for unarchived conversations in your main Chats list.
The only way to have an archived chat at the top is to unarchive it, which will move it back into your main chats list where it can be pinned.
How do I permanently delete archived chats?
If you want to completely delete an archived conversation from WhatsApp:
- Open Archived chats
- Tap and hold the chat you want to delete
- Select Delete chat
- Confirm deletion in the pop-up prompt
This will permanently erase the chat and its messages from your device and backup. The deletion is irreversible.
You can also delete chats from within the archive:
- Open the archived chat
- Tap on the contact name at the top
- Select Delete chat
- Confirm deletion
Be careful before deleting chats, as the action is permanent and cannot be undone!
Can I recover a deleted archived chat?
If you have deleted an archived chat by mistake, recovery may be possible in some cases:
– **From a recent cloud backup:** If the chat was deleted recently, restoring a previous backup from Google Drive or iCloud can retrieve it.
– **From local backup:** If you have a local backup on your device storage, you can restore from it to get deleted chats back.
– **From file manager:** On Android, WhatsApp chat backup files can sometimes be recovered from the phone’s internal storage or SD card through a file manager app even after deletion.
However, if no backups exist or the chat was deleted long ago, recovering deleted archived WhatsApp chats may not be possible through official means. Third-party data recovery software could work in some cases.
Conclusion
Archiving is a handy WhatsApp feature to organize conversations and access them when needed. Archived chats remain saved on your device or cloud backup indefinitely, allowing you to search through old message history or unarchive any time.
If you want to retrieve an archived chat, simply unarchive it. And remember archived chats won’t get automatically deleted by WhatsApp unlike actual deleted conversations.